| Hi Steve-
Getting solids to settle is something of a struggle isn't it? First you have to feed the fish good food and not too much of it. Second you have to get the waste into the drains and keep it from settling there. Once you get it to your settlement chamber you have to slow it down so it will...settle. If it doesn't have weight and if it doesn't slow down it will not settle and it doesn't matter if you're swirling the water or not.
The main ingredient in determining if you can settle waste out of your water flow is volume of the settlement chamber. If you have enough volume it will work. The aquaculture guideline is that settlement requires 15 minutes dwell time, how long it takes to go through the chamber, so the settlement chamber should be 1/4 the amount of the flow. Divide your pump's output by 4, Steve. See? A little undersized?
Wait! Vortexes are miracles of efficiency. Nope. They are improvements of efficiency. They do, because of a combination of effects on the water and the waste, settle more waste at a higher flow in a lower volume than rectangular chambers. But they are not miraculous.
Search for Spirex Optima and you will find the manufacturer's website. It will state that the 1000 series is meant to be used with a maximum of 1000gph flow through it. See? A little undersized.
Umm, Steve...A LOT. So, in your design the vortex becomes only a flushable container for the Matala rounds which will have to strain the little shits out of the water. This is why I figured you would end up with daily maintanence, if the black and green can even catch enough crap to keep it from going right on through at your pumped velocity.
Optima 2000 would be an improvement, allowing a reliable capacity of 2000gph for settlement. Adding Matala rounds could work efficiently maybe, but I think the black would do little. Can you fit 2, 2000's? Using one for the bottom drain and one for the skimmer line? both can feed into the same pump you are planning but you would need more valves to isolate each vortex for complete flushing while the pump is running. BTW, Don't use three ways on supply side. And also, guess what the 3500 is cheaper than 2, 2000's, offering the same beneficial capacity for your settlement entertaiment. And 3500 or 4000gph is about enough for your pump. All of this is still relying on the numbers published by a manufacturer. Fudge to the good side.
Have you heard anybody say their vortex was too big?
Mickey the windowman |